This piece, by Dahlia Lithwick, does a good job exposing the foolishness of efforts by State AGs to overturn the health-care bill. Virginia's AG, Ken Cuccinelli, comes off looking like something of a hack: He had aides physically run to file his lawsuit after the law was passed, even though it's likely his suit can't be filed until the bill's provisions all go into effect ... in 2014. There seems to be a general consensus from conservatives and liberals that there is little substance to these challenges, and they are ultimately empty gestures aimed at exciting conservative activists who don't know any better.
On the other hand, you have someone like Ohio's AG, Richard Cordray, who isn't wasting time with futile legal challenges. Cordray is instead focused on using his authority to protect consumers from predatory lending and fraud. He has organized numerous legal challenges of banks and lenders, recently held a summit dedicated to combating consumer fraud that included 300 Ohio consumer advocates, and has been working with other state AGs and the Obama administration to "report trends in fraud and illegal conduct to Treasury to help develop a coordinated and effective national response" and argue in favor of effective financial reform.
I'm obviously sympathetic to politicians who advocate for, rather than against, my pet issues -- but just ask yourself, in general, what is more important for AGs to do: Devote their time and resources to workaday efforts to promote consumer rights or focus on abstract legal challenges based on the shoddiest of legal doctrines?
-- Tim Fernholz
